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| Maeve, age 8 |
I'm partly excited. I can't wait to finish the Little House on the Prairie series while driving in the car and going to all the canyons and mountains and deserts. When we go to Costa Rica, I think I'll have a lot of fun at the zipline cloud forest park we're going to for Sam's 10th birthday. Also, I'm excited about seeing the wildlife and especially sloths and sea turtles. Lots of our friends and family are coming to visit and I think I'll have a lot of fun when they come. I'm glad we'll be spending every day outside. We probably will get to ride horses on the beach and try folk dancing and surfing and those things are awesome!!!!
I'm partly worried and nervous. There are lots of insects and spiders and things in the water like jelly fish in Costa Rica. I don't like them. Especially I'm horrified by scorpions and tarantulas. Also, there is a volcano in Costa Rica. Even though Mama says it's sleeping and far away, I'm still a little worried.
I'm partly sad. I don't want to leave my family and friends because I think I'm going to miss them a lot. Also, I wish I wasn't missing my classes like ballet, piano, choir, book club, and pine.
I'm mostly happy. I get to go to an exciting and new place with my favourite people and we will learn new things together.
Hi, Maeve!
ReplyDeleteIt is so nice to hear from you! What did you do for YOUR birthday this year?
Tayo says: We also got to go horse riding on the beach! And a camel! There was a baby camel and a mama camel, and the baby camel was so soft. I rode the big mamma camel. It was fun.
Patti again:I have been to the volcano in Costa Rica, and it was actually a little boring. It was wrapped in clouds so we couldn't see it, and when we went hiking near it, all the old lava flows were covered in trees. I saw a chestnut toucan in the trees there, and that was the most exciting thing about the whole 3 days. Oh, wait. we spent a day at a nearby resort, and that was fun because it had pools connected by waterslides, and the pools were heated by geothermal water from the volcano. The adults particularly enjoyed the swim-up bar with underwater bar stools in the hot-tub temperature pool. I think the geothermal water was the most exciting part of being near to a volcano. We had to drive a whole day to get to the volcano from Nosara! It was really far away!
Also, when we were in Costa Rica last time, we didn't see any jellyfish the whole time. Not one. In contrast, here in Tunisia, I see 5 or 6 every time I go in the water. The jellyfish are small, too. if you make a circle of your thumb and finger, that's how big they are. Everyone except Rich has been stung (he doesn't go in the sea). It hurts about half as badly as a wasp sting, and it hurts for about half an hour. I don't like it. And the kids are very afraid.
BUT, we have worked out a solution! We have medusa suits for the kids to swim in! Meduse is the french word for jellyfish. The kids wear their long-sleeved swim shirts and pants when we swim, and the jellyfish can't sting through clothes! Now we can play and play in the water without worrying. Even though there are jellyfish, there are hundreds of people in the water every day. People take their babies in, and toddlers play all day in the waves. I am trying to learn to be less freaked out by the jellyfish, because, clearly the Tunisians aren't!! They pick them up in their hands! I am trying to think of them as the equivalent of wasps at Dufferin Grove Park. We know they are there, but we don't avoid the park because of them! We just are careful and aware.
I am looking forward to hearing more about your trip as you travel. I am most excited about seeing butterfly gardens in Costa Rica. Have fun, thanks for writing!
Hi, Maeve, we met once a long time ago, and I'm a friend of your mom's and Aunt Kate's from way back.
ReplyDeleteI completely understand you feeling excited and worried at the same time! I think I would feel the same. I'm pretty jealous that you might get to ride horses on the beach... I hope you do, and that you can post pictures here for us to see!
Don't worry Maeve! There's not actually sea monsters in the water. Your mom was only joking. You can swim however you want. I hope you have a good time. Love, Zoe.
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